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SALT LAKE CITY — "Win, continue improving from game to game, score goals. And if you can't (score), get assists."
Those are the team goals Real Salt Lake has for itself this season according to forward Anderson Julio, who enters the season opener on Saturday in Vancouver as perhaps the most important player in the lineup.
RSL scored the sixth-fewest goals (43) in MLS last season and averaged just 1.3 goals per game. It's no secret the team struggled to score last season.
So what was the primary area of focus during the team's preseason preparation that began in early January? Score goals; and, more specifically, finish chances in front of the goal.
Most of the training sessions this preseason have culminated with some version of the following exercise: a wing player passes the ball in front of the goal, and a central player tries to put it in the back of the net.
The exercise resulted in some fun highlights and sometimes hilarious fails, but all with the desired end goal of getting more points on the board in games. The team did a good job of this for the most part during preseason friendlies, ending the stretch with a 5-0 win over the Chicago Fire last week.
"We're being forceful in the moment of confronting the goalkeeper," Julio said. "Now we have to take what we did in the preseason and translate it to the games."
Anderson Julio talks about his preseason and the opportunity he has to be the likely starter at the striker position this weekend. (Español) #RSLpic.twitter.com/zLXNZFMQF1
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) February 23, 2023
Julio started several preseason games this year as RSL's striker up top after being hampered by injuries for much of 2022; however, despite playing the ninth-fewest minutes last year among rotation players, Julio managed to still finish tied for third on the team in goals scored with three.
Sergio Cordova led last year's squad with nine goals and Jefferson Savarino came in second with seven. When asked where the goals would come from this season, head coach Pablo Mastroeni named three players: Julio, Rubio Rubin and Damir Kreilach.
And lastly, the #RSL skipper Pablo Mastroeni talks about where his team is at heading into the final preseason stretch. Says the team is still possibly looking for a striker on the transfer market, but a lot of the scoring load will fall on Rubin, Julio and Kreilach. pic.twitter.com/Mo6abS2W21
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) February 6, 2023
Rubin is out for Saturday's game, and Kreilach is coming off of a season-ending injury less than a year ago, so Julio is about as sure a thing in front of goal as RSL can hope for right now outside of Savarino, who will likely spend a lot more time this season assisting and setting up goals rather than scoring.
Julio averaged a goal every 170 minutes during his limited time last season. That scoring rate would be good for at least 13 goals (13.5) on the season if he played as many minutes as Cordova did in 2022.
It's important to note, however, that RSL played the majority of its games last season with two strikers, beginning with Cordova and Bobby Wood. All signals point to a single-striker formation this season, forcing Julio to split minutes with Rubin, who received his fair share of praise from coaches and players this preseason.
Rubin scored just one goal in 856 minutes last season but says he has returned this year in "the best shape of his life" and was able to get in a full preseason after joining the team late last year due to injury.
Saturday's season opener in Vancouver will give fans an early look at any improvements in the RSL attack if they have indeed been made, and Julio's likely start up top could answer the all-important striker question. Kickoff is set for 8:30 MST on Apple TV's MLS Season Pass.
